Military Medicine
Volume 165, Issue 6, 2000, Pages 480-482

Adaptation of immigrant psychiatrists from the former Soviet Union in the Department of Mental Health of the Israel Defense Forces (Article)

Teitelbaum A. , Durst R. , Abramowitz M. , Knobler H.Y. , Zislin J. , Fluk A. , Mark M.
  • a [Affiliation not available]
  • b Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center, Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
  • c [Affiliation not available]
  • d Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center, Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
  • e Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center, Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
  • f [Affiliation not available]
  • g [Affiliation not available]

Abstract

Psychiatrists from the former Soviet Union serve in the Department of Mental Health of the Israel Defense Forces. The new immigrant psychiatrists confront a wide range of difficulties during the process of integration to the military system and adaptation to the specifically military aspects of psychiatry. These include unfamiliarity with the military system, cultural clashes with the different groups of soldiers representing the various subgroups of the absorbing society, the psychopathology of soldiers, which is different from that seen in civil psychiatry, and the change in focus in the military mental health service, which emphasizes the importance of evaluating ego strength. Arbitrarily, one can describe four stages of adaptation that the immigrant psychiatrist has to pass through before recruitment and during service until adaptation and integration in the new role take place. Individual and group supervision are the main means by which the assimilation process is eased. The military service smooths the acculturation process and has an important role in helping the immigrant's adaptation to Israeli society and in building his or her professional identity.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

Models, Psychological immigrant Military Psychiatry Israel adaptation mental health human Social Identification psychiatrist USSR Adaptation, Psychological Humans Acculturation hospital department cultural factor Article integration Emigration and Immigration military service Military Personnel
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0034083770&partnerID=40&md5=a6b475f7ce53f0a9f73c4c8b3db46b11
ISSN: 00264075
Cited by: 1
Original Language: English